Building a Portfolio While Working Full-Time ⏱️

Ashlee Edwards is a full-time attorney who built an eight-property portfolio while maintaining a demanding career. She began investing during the pandemic after realizing how fragile income can be when it depends on one employer.

What she did:
• Kept her full-time attorney role while buying properties ⚖️
• Used downtime to learn through podcasts and books 📚
• Invested in real estate education 🎓
• Built entities, accounts, and systems early 🧱
• Saved aggressively instead of upgrading lifestyle 💰

How you can apply it:
• Use downtime intentionally
• Learn while executing
• Build systems early
• Avoid lifestyle creep

Protecting the Income That Enabled Her Growth 🛡️

Ashlee focused on financial security and treated her income as leverage.

What she did:
• Maintained stable employment
• Used steady income for down payments
• Avoided moves that weakened lending strength

How you can apply it:
• Protect income funding deals
• Use your job as leverage
• Delay risky transitions

Using Savings Discipline as a Competitive Advantage 🏦

Disciplined saving allowed Ashlee to act quickly.

What she did:
• Practiced structured saving
• Increased savings as income grew
• Used capital for early deals

How you can apply it:
• Treat saving as a skill
• Save before spending
• Shorten timelines

Operating Real Estate With a Demanding Schedule 📆

Ashlee reduced chaos by using one system.

What she did:
• Ran all tasks through one calendar
• Scheduled real estate like appointments
• Focused on one task at a time

How you can apply it:
• Use one calendar
• Time-block investing tasks
• Eliminate multitasking

Eliminating Distractions to Increase Focus 🔕

Ashlee protects focus by limiting interruptions.

What she did:
• Turned off non-essential notifications
• Used focus and DND modes
• Set communication windows

How you can apply it:
• Silence distractions
• Work in focused blocks
• Accept delayed responses

Early DIY for Education 🛠️

She used action as education.

What she did:
• Learned systems by doing
• Built confidence through execution
• Used early action to learn

How you can apply it:
• Treat DIY as training
• Learn before delegating
• Move from doing to managing

Why She’s Now Focusing on Private Money Lending 💼💵

As her portfolio matured, Ashlee shifted to time-efficient growth.

What she did:
• Leveraged experience into private lending
• Focused on sustainability
• Managed risk using legal knowledge

How you can apply it:
• Explore lending as a low-time strategy
• Scale experience first
• Match strategy to time limits

The Real Foundation Behind Her Growth 🧠

Her success came from discipline and consistency.

What she did:
• Stayed patient during slow periods
• Built confidence through repetition
• Prioritized systems over speed

How you can apply it:
• Expect compounding progress
• Stay consistent
• Build systems that fit your schedule

Website: https://ericlindseyml.com/

Click On The Link Below To Schedule A Call With Eric:https://calendly.com/moonlightequitiesgroup/scheduled-conversation

Click On The Link Below For More Information About Eric Lindsey:

https://linktr.ee/ericlindsey

Steven built his portfolio while working 10–12 hour retail shifts, then dedicating nights and weekends to real estate. His early focus was education, mentorship, and disciplined deal analysis. He carved out consistent time instead of trying to do everything at once.

Rather than letting real estate interfere with his job, Steven protected his work performance so income remained stable. That steady paycheck became the engine behind his growth, allowing him to reinvest and scale methodically.

🏗️ How Steven Built His Portfolio While Still Employed

Steven’s primary strategy was buying distressed properties, completing mostly cosmetic renovations, increasing rents, refinancing, and repeating the process. Early on, he used creative financing — including a credit card cash advance — which he paid off after refinancing.

To maximize buying power, he lived at home until he surpassed 100 units and reinvested nearly all profits. His days were long, but structured. The takeaway: building on the side requires planning, not endless free time.

📍 What He Bought and Where He Invested

Steven focused on:
• Single-family homes
• Duplexes and triplexes
• Small apartment buildings (generally 10 units or fewer)

He invested across Central North Carolina, between Raleigh and Charlotte, targeting middle- to upper-lower-class neighborhoods. He avoided luxury markets and high-risk areas, choosing locations where cash flow and tenant demand were more predictable.

📊 Key Takeaways for High-Income Earners and Business Owners Investing on the Side

Steven evaluates deals by focusing on purchase price, value creation, and real cash flow — not headlines or interest rate noise. His long-standing goal has been roughly $300 per unit per month after expenses, with enough cushion to handle vacancies and repairs.

He emphasizes knowing every number, building reserves, and underwriting conservatively so real estate supports life — not the other way around.

⏱️ If You Are Starting With Little Time or Money

Steven believes real estate is uniquely suited for busy professionals. Even a few focused hours per week can create momentum if used intentionally. Education, mentorship, and patience mattered more than speed early on.

🤝 Why Passive Investing in Real Estate Is So Powerful

Passive investing allows professionals to participate in real estate without day-to-day operations. Steven explains that partnering with experienced operators can provide exposure to cash flow and long-term wealth while preserving time for careers and family.

🧭 Coaching Advice For Active and Passive Investors Buying Real Estate Part-Time (Steven Andrews)

• For new investors: Build the foundation first. Understand the numbers before buying anything.
• On balance: Shift from living to work toward working to live. Growth should be sustainable.
• With limited time or money: Be consistent and methodical. Planning beats rushing.
• On underwriting: Never guess. Run the numbers carefully and double-check assumptions.

📚 Books Recommended for Active and Passive Investors

• Building Wealth — Russell Whitney
• The New American Dream — Steven AndrewsWebsite: https://ericlindseyml.com/

Click On The Link Below To Schedule A Call With Eric:https://calendly.com/moonlightequitiesgroup/scheduled-conversation

Click On The Link Below For More Information About Eric Lindsey:

https://linktr.ee/ericlindsey

Building a Portfolio While Working Full-Time

Steven built a 300-unit portfolio while working 10–12 hour retail shifts.

What he did:
• Worked retail days and handled real estate at night
• Pushed through 14–15 hour days early on
• Lived at home to reinvest everything
• Used DIY only for learning
• Followed his mentor and Building Wealth
• Bought the worst house on the block to force appreciation

How you can apply it:
• Use early mornings, nights, and weekends
• Treat your job as part of your investment strategy
• Reinvest heavily at the start
• Lean on mentorship to avoid mistakes

Protecting Income to Stay Lendable

What he did:
• Kept his job stable for five years
• Used job income to qualify for loans
• Lived frugally to reinvest more
• Avoided decisions that hurt lending

How you can apply it:
• Maintain strong income while you scale
• Build relationships with lenders
• Keep expenses low to stay bankable

Delegation as a Scaling Tool

What he did:
• Started with DIY
• Shifted to contractors as he grew
• Focused on decisions, not labor

How you can apply it:
• Learn the basics, then outsource
• Build your contractor list early
• Protect your time

Early DIY for Education

What he did:
• Learned repairs, pricing, and contractor language
• Only DIY’d long enough to get educated

How you can apply it:
• Use early DIY as temporary training
• Learn enough to evaluate bids and avoid overpaying

Designing a Low-Risk Buy Box

What he did:
• Targeted middle/upper-low-class areas
• Bought the worst cosmetic house
• Sought overlooked value-add deals

How you can apply it:
• Choose areas where dollars go further
• Focus on cosmetic value-add
• Avoid overinflated neighborhoods

How He Funded His First Deals

What he did:
• Used a credit-card cash advance for his first down payment
• Borrowed 85% from a local bank
• Made cosmetic improvements with more credit
• Refinanced to pull out capital
• Recycled the same money repeatedly using BRRR

How you can apply it:
• Use creative funding if you lack cash
• Recycle capital whenever possible
• Judge lenders by structure, not rate
• Run your numbers carefully

The Real Sacrifice Behind His Growth

What he did:
• Worked 14–15 hour days
• Juggled retail, rentals, and relationships
• Faced burnout
• Stayed disciplined for five years before leaving his job

How you can apply it:
• Expect short-term sacrifice
• Build systems to protect your health
• Pace yourself to avoid burnout
• Set realistic timelines for your season of life

Website: https://ericlindseyml.com/

Click On The Link Below To Schedule A Call With Eric:https://calendly.com/moonlightequitiesgroup/scheduled-conversation

Click On The Link Below For More Information About Eric Lindsey:

https://linktr.ee/ericlindsey